O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Dominic sent me this today to cool my head. I still think this is one of my favourite hymns for advent, despite Catherine Stead 's attempt to ruin it for me earlier this week by sharing a heavy metal version on Facebook! I'm sure you will agree, this is far more civilised:

The hymn is a metrical version of the "O Antiphons" from the final week of Advent vespers. It is believed that the traditional music stems from a 15th Century French processional hymn for Franciscan nuns, but it may also have 8th Century Gregorian origins. It is one of the most solemn Advent hymns.

The O Antiphons are Magnificat antiphons used at Vespers of the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions. The importance of the "O Antiphons" is twofold. First, each one is a title for the Messiah. Secondly, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah.

Each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. They are:

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